An Old Fashioned Steak Trade

I'm a good cook, and I generally feel very comfortable in the kitchen. When it comes to using a camera, my cousin Adam is the expert. He does freelance video and photography in his spare time, and he is very good at maximizing a camera and then improving the shots in Photoshop. We decided on a steak dinner trade. I would give him and his girlfriend a cooking lesson, and he would give me and my girlfriend a camera lesson. A reasonably fair tradeoff, and a good excuse to spend some quality time together.

Martha's Vineyard, Part I: Simply Grilling

I have been lucky enough to go to Martha's Vineyard every summer of my life. The island is a second home to me, and I cherish all of the time I get to spend there. This summer, I went there with my girlfriend and two friends for the weekend. Whenever I'm on the island, I like to take advantage of all of the extremely fresh and delicious seafood and produce.

Swimming Between Kale and Asparagus

I was in the mood for a very healthy and flavorful dinner. I had read a blog post about pasta with walnut and kale pesto, and I wanted to make my own version of the pesto but with a light fish instead of heavy pasta. I decided on tilapia, because it's a little heartier than cod, but still has a much lighter taste than salmon or trout. Along with the fish and pesto, I wanted some roasted spring vegetables, so I grabbed a bunch of asparagus and a bulb of fennel.


I made the pesto first so I could let it sit while I prepped the rest of the meal. I always try to make sauces first so they have plenty of time for the flavor to expand. For this pesto, I used a head of kale, basil, garlic, walnuts, lemon, parmesan, and olive oil. I chopped the garlic and cut the kale from the stems. I toasted the walnuts in a pan (about 5 minutes) and then a added some olive oil, the garlic and kale, and a squeeze of lemon and sauteed until the kale began to wilt. I added all of this to a blender along with the basil, some more lemon, salt, pepper, and olive oil. I blended until smooth and added some grated parmesan and made sure the nutiness and citrus were balanced and the pesto tasted right.

Once the pesto was done, I preheated the oven to 375 and prepared the fish. I wanted to bake the fish, so I cut up an onion in slices, put them in a baking dish with some balsamic vinegar and the fronds from fennel bulb. I coated the fish with salt, pepper, and olive oil and laid it on top of the fennel fronds, onion and balsamic. Once the fish was ready, I prepped the asparagus and fennel, cutting off the rough ends of the asparagus and cutting the fennel into thin strips. I tossed the veggies in olive oil, salt and pepper and put them on a baking dish. I put both the fish and the veggies in the oven and baked for 25 minutes.

Once the fish was cooked through (I checked the fish by seeing if it flaked with a fork) and the veggies were starting to brown, I took them out of the oven. For the presentation, I lined the asparagus and fennel in alternating lines on the plate. I then laid the fish on top and spooned the pesto on top.

The dish was really tasty. The pesto had the familiar garlic and basil taste, but the walnuts and kale gave it a very earthy and unique flavor, complimenting the light taste of the fish perfectly. The asparagus worked really well with the fennel, their flavors balancing well, and a bite with both veggies and the fish was a well balanced burst of flavor. Best of all, the dish was extremely healthy!

Sunday Steak

Sunday evening and I was craving some beef. I picked up a nice big ribeye from the WF meat counter, some asparagus, and some fingerling potatoes. I didn’t want a big involved meal to cook, but was definitely feeling a hearty and comforting dish. When I got home, I salt and peppered the steak and let it sit until I was ready to cook it. I sliced the potatoes in half, tossed them with 5 garlic cloves, olive oil, salt, pepper and paprika and put them in the oven (all sliced side down) at 375. I tossed the asparagus with olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon and added them to the oven about 15 minutes after the potatoes. I usually cook my potatoes for about 45 minutes, so I wanted the asparagus to be nicely roasted for 30. I heated up the grill pan tossed a little olive oil on it. Once the oil was almost smoking, I added the ribeye. I cooked it about 7 minutes a side to a nice medium rare. The steak sit for about 10 minutes, and once the potatoes and asparagus were done, I put it all on a plate and enjoyed this classic meal. It was the perfect dish for a Sunday night, and a great way to end the weekend.